Operational audit can help ensure long-term cost containment.

Any health care institution can use operational auditing, or operational review, to regularly evaluate the performance of specific units or of the entire institution, to identify conditions that need the most improvement, and, thereby, to select the best cost containment and revenue-enhancing approaches. This article discusses certain features and advantages of operational auditing, such as its use of industry and other substantive standards and the auditors' independence from the institution's internal politics. It also explains some important differences between operational auditing and internal auditing and the details of the operational auditing process.